Two days of grueling fun.

[CraigHyatt]

Thank You Jess.

I went trough 2.5 gallons of water on each day along with several bottles of gatorade. I freeze gallon jugs and use them to cool My ice chests, then drink when needed. I always take enough water to last at least 2 days more than I am planning to be out in the desert.

Tony

I suppose everybody has their own system. I have a habit of running the stop watch on my wristwatch to time how long I'm out. I carry 500 ml water bottles (the usual size from the grocery) and drink one bottle per hour no matter what. The 1 bottle 1 hour rule makes it easy to keep track of my supply. I don't cool my water. Compared to the desert, room temperature is plenty cool. :-)

I used to do Gatorade for electrolytes, but I'm too lazy to mix it, so now I just drink water. Because of the heat down here, I take magnesium and potassium every morning.

I like honey roasted peanuts for a snack. The salt is good. Another forum member suggested Ensure for a snack. That is excellent advice because you get some liquid and plenty of calories in compact form.

Can't wait to see your haul. :-)

[ynot]

Looking good and looks a great place to dig in congrats.

Thank You Jeff. It is a great place, better when it is not quit so hot there.

Can't wait to see your haul. :-)

Did You read the whole thread? Most of My finds are on the first page.

Tony

[CraigHyatt]

Thank You Jeff. It is a great place, better when it is not quit so hot there.

Did You read the whole thread? Most of My finds are on the first page.

Tony

D'oh! I thought you said "two days of grilling fun" and then you were going on your trip. ;-) Edited August 5, 2016 by CraigHyatt

[Shamalama]

Wow, you sure had a good trip. Congrats on the finds and some good advice about the heat. The Wheeler amphitheater does not get as much wind as other parts of the desert out there do you can overheat quickly.

[ynot]

Thank You, Dave.

Tony

[DeepTimeIsotopes]

It was one of my favorite fossil hunts yet. Thank you Ynot, for helping me and my family have a great time out there.

Well, here are my best finds

Here are some brachiopods that were caught hanging out with the trilobites :

And my personal favorites:

Edited August 6, 2016 by UtahFossilHunter

[DeepTimeIsotopes]

And we can't forget the ones picked up while moseying along to the quarry and taking breaks from halving plates of shale.

[DeepTimeIsotopes]

My biggest find of the day was this beastie.

[DeepTimeIsotopes]

Also if anybody would be so kind as to help me identify this mineral it would be greatly appreciated. It was found loosely sitting on the ground at this site as well. It will scratch a penny but not glass or a knife blade.

[ynot]

Nice finds, Y'All did good!!

The mineral is probably hematite after iron pyrite. I am fairly sure that is what the trilobites are replaced with.

Tony

[Coco]

Your mineral seems to be fluorite (hardness 4 on Mohs' scale, could be easily scratch with a blade of steel / knife).

Coco

[DeepTimeIsotopes]

Your mineral seems to be fluorite (hardness 4 on Mohs' scale, could be easily scratch with a blade of steel / knife).

Coco

That may be it. The sample is as opaque as coal though which may just be the amount of impurities in it.

[ynot]

That may be it. The sample is as opaque as coal though which may just be the amount of impurities in it.

A streak test will determine which it is.

Tony

[DeepTimeIsotopes]

A streak test will determine which it is.

Tony

I need to find some unglazed ceramic then. I'll get some today.

[ynot]

Here are a few that I have cleaned...

more...

[ynot]

more...

[ynot]

That is all for now.

Tony

Edited August 21, 2016 by ynot

[DeepTimeIsotopes]

A streak test will determine which it is.

Tony

The streak has a light brown color, like rust. I'm guessing that's characteristic of hematite rather than fluorite, no?

[ynot]

The streak has a light brown color, like rust. I'm guessing that's characteristic of hematite rather than fluorite, no?

Hematite has a rust colored streak, Fluorite has a white streak.

[Wrangellian]

I missed this topic until now. I may never make it to that spot so I have to live it vicariously thru you who have! If I drove there myself I might never get there because I'd be tempted to jump out every time I saw along the way an accessible outcrop of sedimentary rock just to see what I could find. But I guess many have done this already over the years and have found that the best spot is the one you went there for to begin with...

Preps look good so far. Any updates?

I've been wondering about the methods, and I'm sure many on here are tired of hearing me complain about prep jobs when I'm not a prepper myself, but I see problems with the various methods mentioned - a lot of Utah Cambrian fossils are air abraded, but I don't like the look of it. Maybe it's the most economical method considering the (plentiful) material, but what happens to the already-exposed high points when you're continuing to blast to get that matrix from the crevices? They get to look unnaturally polished. Not to mention the troughs that get dug into the surrounding matrix. But I can't imagine how you pick away at any fossil with a dental pick or similar (or airscribe for that matter), without losing control and gouging out scratches in the fossil... I guess with practice. I tried someone's airscribe once on one of my ammos and just couldn't stop marking it up, and the ammo was much larger than one of those trilos..

Would the best method be a combination of airscribing the bulk of the matrix out, then air-abrading the remaining residue? If you've got the luxury($) of having the equipment of course.

[ynot]

On 9/19/2016 at 10:59 PM, Wrangellian said:

Preps look good so far. Any updates?

No updates, I have been too busy with other things to clean any more.

On 9/19/2016 at 10:59 PM, Wrangellian said:

But I can't imagine how you pick away at any fossil with a dental pick or similar (or airscribe for that matter), without losing control and gouging out scratches in the fossil...

The trilobites from the wheeler shale are a pyrite or hematite replacement and hold up well under the dental pick. I never used a "sandblaster" to prep, but believe it would depend on the "sand" that You use in it. First time I was there (1990) I met a man that held a claim where the fossil farm is now. He told Me that a wire brush was the prefered method back then.

On 9/19/2016 at 10:59 PM, Wrangellian said:

Would the best method be a combination of airscribing the bulk of the matrix out, then air-abrading the remaining residue?

Probably, but I have no experiance with those methods.

 

Tony

 

PS Hope that You can make it there someday!

[Twinlukers]

On 8/1/2016 at 9:09 PM, ynot said:

Around 5 pm I stopped to have dinner and then went back out to search some more for the elusive spot I was searching for, one that looked like it would provide some nice fossils.

I finely found one around 6 pm and dug till it was starting to get dark.

This is what I found in that hole...

12 inch ruler for scale.

A couple of close up shots of Fridays finds...

more...

Wow!!! Could you message me the location??? Please!!!! We are going back for more fish in April as I have other trips lined up until then. 

 

I really didnt want to that price as I have been hearing a lot of sad stories from their. But I’ve also heard good ones as well.  For me it’s the hunt! I do my studying and the rewards should be good.  Thanks for the info and your stories are always good..

[ynot]

25 minutes ago, Twinlukers said:

Could you message me the location??? Please!!!!

I camp 150 yards down the ravine from the u-dig site. My campsite is east, just across the ravine, from the main road and easily visible from there.

A crude map...

Tony

[PaleozoicParty]

On 8/1/2016 at 8:09 PM, ynot said:

Another picture of the road in...

I arrived at My chosen site, which is about 100 yards down hill from the "udig" fossil farm.

I started to walk around and look for a good area to dig and look for trilobites.

By 10 in the morning it was getting hot and after 20 minutes of walking I had to seek out some shade.

And a nice natural "bonsai" tree.

By noon it was scorching, and I had to stop and cool in the shade of the little trees. I was spending as much time in the shade as I was out looking for a place to dig. I had already drank a gallon of ice water.

more...

Looks like a fun time!

What cardinal direction was this in relation to U-Dig, if I might ask?

[ynot]

4 minutes ago, PaleozoicParty said:

Looks like a fun time!

What cardinal direction was this in relation to U-Dig, if I might ask?

South, down the ravine.